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Prince Harry

British royal Prince Harry and actors Alexander Skarsgard and Dominic West celebrated the completion of their challenging trek to the South Pole last month by guzzling champagne from a prosthetic leg.

The trio successfully reached the Antarctic with teams of wounded soldiers as part of the Walking With the Wounded charity mission on Dec. 13, and they marked the achievement by embarking on a 48-hour boozing session, using fellow adventurer Duncan Slater’s artificial limbs as drinking vessels. Slater lost both of his legs in action in Afghanistan in 2009.

The Wire star West reunited with Harry and a few other teammates at a Walking With the Wounded press conference in London on Tuesday, when the British actor recalled, “Most of us, Harry included, just went on a two-day bender with the Icelandic truck drivers who had brought some lethal home brew with them.

“There was a lot of liquor drunk. We all drank champagne out of Duncan’s favorite prosthetic legs.”

West also revealed that Harry shared his “filthy” sense of humor with the group by telling dirty jokes in a bid to keep morale high as they battled freezing temperatures, and he proved a great help in constructing outdoor toilets.

West added, “He seemed to specialize in building the latrines and he built these incredibly elaborate ones. He did one with castellated sides and a flag pole, a loo (toilet) roll holder, and you’re sitting there thinking, ‘This is a real royal flush.’ He must have spent about 40 minutes making it.”

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge looked relaxed as they walked St Mary Magdalene Church, holding hands as temperatures stayed just above freezing.

One member of the crowd shouted: “Where’s the baby?”

Wearing a tartan Alexander McQueen coat and hat by Gina Foster, Kate smiled and waved to the crowds.

She was seen curtseying to the Queen, who was wearing an orange coat, as the family attended a private service earlier in the morning.

Prince Harry, still sporting a beard from his exertions in the Arctic with the charity Walking With the Wounded, attended alone despite rumours that girlfriend Cressida Bonas might join him.

About 3000 well-wishers gathered outside the church to watch them arrive.

Before the service a pilot entertained them by drawing a smiley face, heart and kiss in vapour trails in the sky.

The service opened with a rendition of Christians, Awake followed by Once In Royal David’s City.

Last year the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge missed the service, choosing to spend Christmas Day with Kate’s family in Berkshire, while Prince Harry was on tour in Afghanistan.

There had been unconfirmed reports that George’s grandparents Michael and Carole Middleton would attend this year. There was no sign of them but it is thought they may arrive at the estate on Boxing Day.

The royal habit of spending Christmas at Sandringham is believed to date to Queen Victoria’s reign.

The family traditionally open their presents on Christmas Eve and will enjoy a Norfolk turkey with all the trimmings after the service.

After weeks on a 200-mile ice trek to benefit Wounded Warriors, Harry sees the finish quickly approaching and even joked about finishing on “Friday the 13th.”

“Second from last day, I think,” he said Wednesday during interviews. “Another 11 km to go, to setup camp. One more full day tomorrow and a half day on Friday and we’re going to the South Pole — on Friday the 13th. Unlucky for some, lucky for us.”

What began as a race with three teams turned into everyone joining forces just to reach the South Pole when conditions became worse than expected earlier this week. Everyone had about 27km left when Thursday’s trek began.

With snow storms that pushed temperatures to around -50C this week, Harry said the conditions have definitely taken their toll, but that everyone is pushing through.

“Not too bad. Wind has dropped now, which is quite nice,” he added. “And everyone is feeling a bit tired, but we’re slowly getting into the rhythm. We got into the rhythm and it’s almost finished.”

Since the entire trek is to help servicemen and women who have suffered life-changing injuries, Harry admitted earlier in the trip that he had “no excuses” but to finish.

British royal Prince Harry has been forced to suspend his expedition to the South Pole due to safety concerns.
The prince is taking part in a race across the Antarctic against teams headed by actors Alexander Skarsgard and Dominic West, but organisers halted the trek on Friday as the adventurers encountered dangerous terrain.
The challenge’s director Ed Parker reveals the participants were struggling with the conditions, and concerns for their safety promoted organisers to stop the mission.
Speaking on Saturday, Parker explained, “Until now, the three teams have been racing against one another across the Antarctic plateau, but yesterday I took the decision to suspend the race. The reason for this is entirely simple – safety, which remains the core principle of our expeditions.
“While all three teams were progressing well, it was becoming evident that there was a higher degree of stress imposed on the team members, due to unprecedented terrain on the plateau.”
The Walking With the Wounded trek, which is raising money for injured troops, is expected to resume, although the teams will no longer be encouraged to race each other to the South Pole.

Prince Harry, the fourth in line to the British throne, on Sunday began his long-planned final push to the South Pole, according to the organization sponsoring the trip.

Weather conditions had left it uncertain when the expedition could set out, reported Walking With the Wounded, the group sponsoring the mission.

However, Harry’s team set out Sunday afternoon. The 15-day mission, which covers the remaining distance from their first landing point in Antarctica to the South Pole, will take the team 280 kilometres to the Earth’s southernmost point. Twelve kilometres are planned for the first day.

Harry is accompanied by recovering war veterans, some who are making the trip with the aid of prosthetics. The expedition consists of three teams, who hope to reach their destination by December 16 and are raising money for military charities from their home countries, Britain, the United States, Australia and Canada.

Madame Tussauds revealed a wax version of Prince Harry as he embarks on Walking With The Wounded South Pole Challenge.

Prince Harry begins his journey to the South Pole as part of the Walking With the Wounded challenge this weekend.

And to mark the start of the gruelling endeavour, which will see three teams trek hundreds of kilometres in sub-zero temperatures, London’s famous waxwork museum Madame Tussauds has unveiled a Prince Harry in (Ant)artic clothing.